Heart & Soul

刚才来了个美国人，进到办公室，前台小姐左看右看，大家都在打游戏，只有自己比较清闲，面带微笑的： 　　　　
前台小姐：“Hello.” 
美国人：“Hi.” 
前台小姐：“You have what thing？” 
美国人：“Can you speak english？” 
前台小姐：“If I not speak English， I am speaking what？” 
美国人：“Can anybody else speak english？” 
前台小姐：“You yourself look.all people are playing， no people have time， you can wait， you wait，you not wait，you go！” 
美国人：“Good heavens. anybody here can speak English？” 
前台小姐：“Shout what shout， quiet a little，you on earth have what thing?” 
美国人：“I want to speak to your head.” 
前台小姐：“Head not zai. You tomorrow come！” 
美国人吐血而亡。。。

Of the three major beverages of the world-- tea, coffee and cocoa-- tea is consumed by the largest number of people.

China is the homeland of tea. It is believed that China has tea-shrubs as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of teaplants dates back two thousand years. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important Chinese export. At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tea leaves or tea as a drink in many countries are derivatives from the Chinese character "cha." The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye" (tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English word "tea" sounds similar to the pronunciation of its counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea drinkers in the world is legion and is still on the increase.

Fujian to Host Tea Cultural Festival

A Tea Cultural Tourism Festival will be held from December 17-19 in Anxi County in east China's Fujian Province.

An official from the event's sponsor, the Fujian provincial tourism bureau, said here today that the festival will include a series of tea-related cultural and tourism activities, including academic seminars, folk custom shows and tea ceremony performance and art exhibitions, he said, adding that a tea trade fair will also be hosted during the three-day festival.

The fair will provide a chance for domestic and overseas visitors and businessmen to learn about tourism sites, tea culture as well as to conduct industrial and trade cooperation, the official said.

Anxi, with a tea-raising tradition dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is the birthplace of "Tieguanyin"-- a famous kind of black tea. With an annual production volume of 15,000 tons and a 250,000 mu (16,700 ha) tea field, the county is China's largest production base of oolong tea.